Rare occurrence : Court refuses to hear father’s plea in ‘forced’ conversion case

Anjali Meghwar expresses 'no-confidence' in the bench

KARACHI: In a rare occurrence, a Sindh High Court (SHC) bench refused on Monday to further hear a Hindu father's plea against the alleged forced conversion of his daughter when the girl expressed 'no confidence' in the two judges.

A division bench, comprising Justices Ahmed Ali M Sheikh and Syed Muhammad Farooq Shah, expressed their inability to further proceed with the matter.

The alleged conversion of 12-year-old Anjali Kumari Meghwar, whose Muslim name is Salma, and her subsequent marriage with a Muslim man under duress had recently sparked widespread protests by the religious minority. Last month, her father, Kundandass Meghwar, had approached SHC with a plea to declare the consent of his underage daughter to live with her Muslim husband not admissible in the courts.



He claimed that his daughter is only 12 years old. She was abducted and forced to convert, he said. In his petition, the father said that they had lodged a case of Anjali's kidnapping and forced conversion but they were not satisfied with the investigations by the Ghotki police.

The police must investigate the case in an impartial manner and in accordance with the law against the culprits, argued Syed Ali Ahmed Tariq, the petitioner's lawyer.

The police have, however, failed to produce the girl before the court on time and have deliberately spoiled the evidence against the accused, who will ultimately succeed in preparing the documents to support their baseless version, he apprehended. The lawyer argued that it is necessary that the girl should stay at the shelter home for her security. But, since she is a minor, her parents have the right to meet their daughter.

Age determination

The family had also sought an order for the provincial authorities to constitute a medical board, comprising qualified gynaecologists and surgeons of Karachi, to conduct her medical examination to ascertain her age.

Shelter home

A judicial magistrate had earlier ordered that the girl must go to a shelter home until the controversy is resolved. At the last hearing, the SHC judges had allowed the parents to meet their daughter at the shelter home, as the meeting was allegedly being denied under pressure from the other party.

No confidence

When the matter was taken up by the bench on Monday Advocate Ghulam Qadir Jatoi filed an application on behalf of the girl. He told the two judges that the applicant, Salma, has no confidence in the incumbent bench. Jatoi said his client had come to know that the Sindh chief minister has approached one of the members of the bench and asked them to favour the petitioner, the girl's father.

The judges noted that her lawyer has filed the miscellaneous application but his power of attorney was missing. The lawyer responded that the girl was reluctant to sign his power of attorney due to the CM's involvement. It was under the instructions of the CM that the Sindh Assembly adopted a resolution, condemning the alleged forced conversion, he said.

The judges refused to further hear the petition. "Let the matter may be placed before any other bench," ordered the head of the bench, Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2014.